December 5, 2013 4:19pm ESTDecember 5, 2013 8:25am ESTNorth Carolina lost to UAB and Belmont, but how about wins against the defending national champs and No. 1 Michigan State? SN's Mike DeCourcy has the Tar Heels atop the Big Ten/ACC Challenge class.

Depending on how you want to view it, the final score of the 2013 Big Ten/ACC Challenge was either 6-6 (each league won a half-dozen games) or 10-2 (home teams won all but a couple games).

However, the final grades for participation in this year’s event are to be handed out here:

North Carolina: A-plus. The Tar Heels went on the road and out-toughed, outhustled, outmanned Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, 79-65. This stands as the best win for any program to date, given the venue, opponent and the style in which it was achieved. It’s going to be hard for UNC to be consistently great with Marcus Paige as the only player making 3s. (He has 17 of the team’s 20 makes). But what if P.J. Hairston does come back? With the power they’re flexing and pace they’re enforcing, do the Heels become a legit national title contender?

Syracuse: A. Louisville coach Rick Pitino has said SU is the most impressive team he’s seen to date—and that was before the Orange wrecked Indiana, 69-52. Their success at the Maui Invitational was impressive, but dominating the Hoosiers ranked among the program’s best early season performances in recent years. Shooting guard Trevor Cooney couldn’t crack the rotation last year, which was interpreted by many as a sign he was in over his head. It should have been interpreted as a sign the Orange were loaded at guard. His perimeter shooting is making everything else work.

Duke: A-minus. The Blue Devils have lost twice so far this year. So what? They lost to two of the best teams in the country, Kansas and Arizona, two of the teams that join Duke on the list of the half-dozen teams most likely to win the NCAA championship. If you’re concerned about those results, you’re either looking for reasons to bash the Devils (it’s a common pursuit) or a bit too unrealistic about your Duke fandom.

In a 79-69 thrashing of Michigan, the Devils addressed some of the concerns from their early performances. They unleashed a hellacious defensive effort upon the Wolverines, got some useful minutes from center Marshall Plumlee and beat a quality opponent without having to be totally reliant on star freshman Jabari Parker. They’ll need more from Plumlee to be a true title contender, but it was the DNP for shooting guard Rasheed Sulaimon that led to being docked a half-grade.

Wisconsin: A-minus. Veteran guard Josh Gasser held UVa star Joe Harris to 1-of-10 shooting in a 48-38 Badgers victory. They joined North Carolina as the only two road teams to win.

Iowa: B-plus. Star guard Devyn Marble was pleased that he’d finally won a Challenge game, and adding this to a finals appearance at the Battle 4 Atlantis puts the Hawkeyes on course for their first NCAA berth since 2006. But the defense still could use some tightening, and not just because the final score was 98-93. The Irish got too many of the shots they wanted.

Ohio State: B-plus. After a mystifying start to the season, forward LaQuinton Ross is starting to look like exactly the player we thought he’d be: A dangerous long-range shooter, a versatile scorer who can attack the rim and an effective rebounder. With Ross going, a balky offense gains an essential weapon. And the defense, particularly on the perimeter, is among the nation’s most destructive. Poor Maryland shot 2-of-18 on 3s in a 76-60 loss. So why not an A for the Buckeyes? Degree of difficulty. The Terps weren’t a sufficient challenge at this point in their development.

Purdue: B-plus. The Boilers got a winnable home game, and they took full advantage to win 88-67.

Penn State: B-plus. Ranked as the No. 11 Big Ten team in preseason, the Nittany Lions traveled to ACC No. 6 Pitt. It wasn’t really a fair fight, but it was a heck of a battle.

Notre Dame: B. The Irish offense was outstanding in a narrow road loss to Iowa. It would have been easy to capitulate against a strong crowd and capable opponent, but ND kept firing.

Pitt: B. On paper, the Panthers got an easy matchup. In reality, they got Penn State. The Panthers did well to recover for a 76-69 victory behind center Talib Zanna’s double-double.

Nebraska: B. As coach Tim Miles put it, the Huskers saved the Big Ten’s “bacon.” Their dominance of hapless Miami was the sixth and final Big Ten victory in the Challenge, assuring the league would avoid defeat again.

Minnesota: B. It’s hard not to play an ugly game against Florida State, which thrives in such circumstances. But the Gophers won while shooting 34 percent from the floor and being outrebounded. They were saved by the offensive aggression that led to 38 free throw attempts, as well as the precision reflected in 74 percent accuracy from the line and just six turnovers. What matters most, though, is the new Gophers staff needed something positive as a foundation for the future.

N.C. State: B. Northwestern was awful, but a 21-point victory is worthy of a solid grade.

Georgia Tech: B-minus. Expecting Tennessee transfer Trae Golden to make the Jackets a winner when he couldn’t do it for the Vols seemed a bit desperate, and it’s kind of turning out that way. He’s 8-of-31 in his past four games against major opponents, and Tech is 1-3 in those games. But even with him going 0-for-5, the team rallied from 12 down in the final seven minutes for a 67-64 victory.

Illinois: C-minus. The Illini aren’t ready for a major opponent on the road, but they had Georgia Tech beaten and let the game slip away. They ran a heck of a play to get Joseph Bertrand an open 3-pointer in the final minute that would have tied the game. He missed.

Florida State: C-minus. The Seminoles got one of the longest road trips, jetting all the way to Minneapolis, but they showed little of the spirit or competence evident during their third-place finish at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Maryland: C-minus. The Terps got one of the toughest matchup deals, ranking as only the No. 7 ACC team in the league’s preseason poll but getting Big Ten No. 3 Ohio State as an opponent—and on the road, no less.

Michigan: D-plus. The Wolverines miss Trey Burke and all that, but they put four proven scorers on the floor in their primary rotation. So that’s too much an excuse. Although star guard Nik Stauskas was injured entering a 79-69 loss to Duke, and that played a role in his 0-for-2 shooting. But this is a team that isn’t executing offense right now, which is really curious given coach John Beilein’s track record. They don’t enter the ball into the post, they don’t get defenses to shift. The Wolverines just shoot.

Indiana: D. The Hoosiers had every reason to present a compelling effort in a rematch against Syracuse, given how horribly they’d been manhandled by SU in last season's Sweet 16. Point guard Yogi Ferrell talked at Big Ten media day about how much he looked forward to a second chance against the Orange zone. But IU committed 16 turnovers and allowed Syracuse to shoot better than 50 percent.

Michigan State: D. They technically still are the No. 1 ranked team, but the lack of toughness and desire shown against North Carolina was alarming. They were beaten to nearly every loose ball that rolled on the court. Forward Branden Dawson, whose position was earned with intensity and toughness, showed neither in the loss.

Virginia: D. Not even 40 points at home. Wisconsin’s D is good, but not quite that good. UVa shot 23.4 percent.

Northwestern: D. The schedule's been too tough early for a team in a transition year. Getting a road game in the Challenge was a tough break. Losing by 16 to UCLA seems like a triumph by now.

Miami: D-minus. Only a late rally that briefly made it a single-digit deficit saved the Hurricanes in a 60-49 loss at Nebraska. They scored just 13 points in the first half.

Boston College: F. The Eagles are 3-5 and vying for the title of worst major team.